Fleetwood Mac's career took off in the mid-1970s after Welch left the band.

Dreams was a Number 1 hit in 1977, and Don't Stop hit the top of the charts the same year.

It later became the anthem for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. Hold Me was a hit in 1982 and Little Lies in 1987.

Welch, a native of Los Angeles, scored his biggest hit with Sentimental Lady, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard chart.

His other singles included Precious Love in 1979 and Hot Love, Cold World in 1978.

Welch fell out with his former band mates after suing the group in 1994 for unpaid royalties, which led to his exclusion from the group's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1998.

'It basically comes down to the fact that they don't like me anymore,' he told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland at the time.

'I guess they can do what they want. I could understand it if I had been a sideman for a year. But I was an integral part of that band... I put more of myself into that band than anything else I've ever done.'

'The
death of Bob Welch is devastating... I had many great times with him
after Lindsey and I joined Fleetwood Mac. He was an amazing guitar
player - he was funny, sweet - and he was smart. I am so very sorry for
his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac - so, so sad.'

As a songwriter, Welch had his songs recorded by Kenny Rogers, Sammy Hagar, the Pointer Sisters and others.

In 1999 he released a CD, Bob Welch Looks at Bop, a salute to bebop music in the 1940s.

Heyday: Welch, centre, was in the band between 1971 and 1974, and was a
guitarist and vocalist. Pictured here in 1973 with (from left) Bob
Weston, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood

In an interview with The Tennessean in 2003, Welch said he never dreamed he'd be remembered for much.

'I
just wanted to play guitar in a good band,' he said. 'I wanted to make
the music I love. I wanted to travel the world and have adventures.'

Welch also said 'music is disposable now. It doesn't have the emotional impact anymore. That's sad.'

He had lived in Nashville since the 1990s.

Welch is the second member of Fleetwood Mac to die this year. In January, another former guitarist for the band, Bob Weston, died in London from a gastrointestinal haemorrhage, at age 64.

Former bandmates: Fleetwood Mac circa 1972/1973, Welch is seen in the middle

Watch Bob Welch perform with Fleetwood Mac in 1973

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Bob Welch found dead: Former Fleetwood Mac member shot himself in chest